To many, a successful SEO campaign means nothing more than reaching the first page of Google. But what happens then? Can you save money by stopping SEO? Many business owners assume that SEO is a one-time expense and that they’ll maintain their rankings long after they’ve achieved what they set out to do. However, this can’t be farther from the truth. The reality is that stopping SEO is different from stopping any other kind of marketing effort. Ultimately, it can affect everything from your revenue to your actual website. Here’s what happens when you stop SEO:
You’ll Have More Technical Issues
SEO isn’t just about helping you rank higher in search engines. A good SEO agency will also monitor your site for any technical issues. After all, these technical issues can also affect your website’s search engine rankings. If you’re not familiar with the way websites work, then you likely aren’t aware that things on websites can often break for no apparent reason. When you don’t have an SEO agency constantly monitoring and watching out for things breaking, technical issues can quickly add up. These, in turn, eventually begin to affect your website’s functionality and could cost you dearly down the line.
Stopping SEO also means you’ll potentially be missing out on new developments related to things like mobile responsiveness, page speed, and user experience – all of which affect your website rankings and are typically taken care of by your SEO company.
You’ll Begin to Lose You Rankings and Traffic
It’s well-known that search engines love new content. New content triggers search engine crawlers to return to your site to re-index. Consequently, the more often your site is crawled, the more attention search engines pay it, and the better your chances are of ranking higher in search results. Part of an SEO agency’s job is to ensure your site is regularly updated with the fresh, high-quality content search engines value so much. Stopping SEO means that search engine crawlers no longer have a reason to visit your site, and you’ll slowly lose your rankings as competing sites get indexed.
Additionally, search engines like Google are constantly updating their ranking algorithms. What worked last month may not work this month, and SEO agencies are constantly tweaking their strategies to remain current. Stopping SEO on your website leaves you vulnerable to algorithm changes, which results in lost rankings and traffic over time.
Your Competition Will Quickly Outrank You
To be successful online, you need to stay on top of your competition. So, it stands to reason that competitor analysis is one of the most important parts of SEO. A good SEO agency will regularly analyze and monitor their clients’ competitors to find out what they’re doing and how they can one-up them.
If you’re lucky enough to rank high for competitive keywords in your industry, you can bet your competitors (or their SEO agencies) are watching your every move. Stopping SEO is like handing them your precious rankings on a silver platter. If they continue investing in their SEO while your site stagnates, they’ll quickly outrank you and steal all the traffic you’ve invested so much in.
You’ll Lose a Lot More than What You Thought You’d Save
SEO needs constant attention. Think of it like going to the gym. It’ll take a while to see the results in the beginning, but you’ll eventually start noticing a difference. Take a long break, however, and you’ll slowly but surely revert to the way you were, maybe worse. Just like taking a long break from the gym, it’s hard to regain your website’s rankings and traffic once you’ve stopped SEO. Should you decide to restart, you’ll essentially be restarting from scratch. All that money, time, and effort you spent to get you to where you were before you decided to stop SEO goes to waste.
You may think you’ll be saving on your monthly expenses by stopping SEO, but all you’re doing is throwing away your initial investment and all that money you’ve already spent.
Let the Three Marketers Help You Stay on Top of Your SEO
So, is it a good idea to stop SEO? No. SEO is essential if you want your business to be found online. More than just an optional, it should be considered a crucial part of your business strategy. The only way to reap the benefits of SEO is to treat it as an ongoing, consistent effort rather than something you can turn on and off whenever you want.
At The Three Marketers, we’ve helped dozens of local Calgary businesses find their success online. If you’re considering stopping SEO or aren’t happy with your current agency, we’re here to help. Contact us online or call us at 403-230-3993 to find out more.
